The invention relates to a circuitry by means of which it is possible to compensate for the effect of external light on phototransistors used in a contact display panel.
A contact display panel circuitry comprises one or several transfer registers having a series-form input and a parallel-form output. A phototransistor and a diode emitting infrared light are coupled to each of the parallel outputs. According to Patent Application FI-895242, there may be coupled in series with a phototransistor a diode by means of which the transistor of each output is coupled to a common line. The shift registers scan the phototransistor-diode pairs of the parallel outputs of the shift registers, giving to each of them in turn a voltage pulse, and the pulse frequency, i.e. the frequency between the pulsing of the adjacent phototransistors, is approx. 1 kHz. Depending on the component type, the phototransistors are sensitive, for example, within a wavelength range of 700-1100 nm, which is in the main infrared range. The phototransistor and the infrared diode coupled to the output of a shift registers are arranged so that the transistor and the diode are located in alignment on opposite sides of the display. The phototransistors are thus on two adjacent sides of the display and the corresponding infrared diodes are on the sides opposite to them. When a point in the display is touched, the radiation pulses of the diodes transmitting infrared radiation in the vertical and horizontal directions (1 in each direction) at this point cannot reach the corresponding phototransistors, whereupon modulation caused by the infrared beam disappears from the pulse received from their emitter. The logic circuit of the device is capable of determining the location of the contact point (coordinates X, Y) on the basis of the lacking modulation.
Since all of the phototransistors are coupled via the diodes described in said Patent Application FI-895242 to a common line leading to the logic circuit, it is important that the direct-voltage level of this line should remain as stable as possible. However, this is not always the case; phototransistors also react to intense external radiation which is within the wavelength range of light. When external light strikes the components, the collector current of the phototransistors begins to grow, the transistors begin to "open", and as a consequence of this the direct-voltage level of the said line begins to rise. When the DC level has risen to a sufficiently high level, the phototransistors will no longer react to infrared radiation and the contact display will no longer operate in the desired manner. This phenomenon is detrimental, since, when a device equipped with the said panel is used outdoors, for example in automobile use, even sunlight will cause operational disturbance. It has been observed that, for example, even bringing an ordinary desk lamp to a distance of approx. one meter from the phototransistors suffices to raise the DC level of the line to such a level that the transistors no longer react to infrared radiation.
Attempts have been made to solve by mechanical means the problem of disturbances caused by external light to infrared components: attempts have been made to shield the components with various types of casings and with plastic sheets, placed to shield the components, which to some extent filter external light. These mechanical shielding means increase the size of the circuit, which is of course detrimental in small-sized devices, and increase the costs.
The present invention discloses a circuit by means of which the prior-art mechanical shield structures can be eliminated, is inexpensive, and enables very small-sized infrared components to be used. The invention is characterized in that between the line to which the phototransistors are coupled via diodes and the ground of the circuit there is coupled a voltage-dependent resistor which tends to maintain the DC level of the line constant.